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Signs of Terry Pratchett’s dementia may have been hidden in his books

Terry Pratchett was diagnosed with posterior cortical atrophy, a type of dementia caused by Alzheimer’s disease, in 2007 – but an analysis of his Discworld books suggests there were signs of the condition a decade earlier

By Chris Simms

12 March 2025

Terry Pratchett was a prolific author

Kevin Nixon/SFX Magazine/Future via Getty Images

Signs of the dementia that author Terry Pratchett died with may have been present in his writing a decade before he was officially diagnosed, according to an analysis of his work.

Pratchett was the author of 41 Discworld fantasy novels, along with numerous other books. He died 10 years ago this week, with posterior cortical atrophy (PCA), a type of dementia caused by Alzheimer’s disease that he was diagnosed with in 2007, at the age of 59.

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